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Some people moan about their 40th birthdays as if their best years were behind them. But there are a significant number of famous and successful people who didn’t really come into their own until their 40s, 50s, or even older.

If you’re turning 40 – or if you’ve already passed that milestone – don’t despair! You could be on the cusp of an exciting new chapter in life. Let’s learn about a few phenomenal achievements made by folks over 40.

come into their own = finally get recognition and successmilestone = a point or mark of significant progress on a journey or in a processdespair = become very sad and hopelesson the cusp of = at a point in time that marks the beginning ofphenomenal = incredibly greatfolks = people (informal)

Stan Lee

Everyone knows Spiderman and the X-Men – but how much do you know about the man who came up with these legendary characters? Stan Lee penned his first hit comic book when he was just shy of his 39th birthday. He had already been in the comics business for twenty years, and although he had aknack for writing, none of his comics had caught on.

penned = wrotehit = successful (informal)just shy of = just beforehad a knack for = had natural skill incaught on = become popular

At the time, he was thinking of quitting the business entirely, so he had nothing to lose – and he decided to experiment with a new approach, creating superheroes with complex personalities and flaws. This group of characters – the Fantastic Four – catapultedLee to success and led to the creation of the entire Marvel Universe. Today, Lee is in his 90s and continues to make cameoappearances in films.

had nothing to lose = there were no negative consequences to taking a riskcatapulted Lee to success = made him successful very quicklycameo appearances = a brief appearance in a very small part of a movie

Henry Ford

The car is a ubiquitous part of our daily life – and the man who invented it spent fifteen years on its development. Ford came from a family of farmers, but he despisedfarm work and became an engineer instead. With backing from investors, Ford successfully created a self-propelled vehicle – but this revolutionary invention was not popular right off the bat.

ubiquitous = appearing to be everywherebacking = supportright off the bat = immediately

The landmark Model T was launched in 1908, when Ford was 45 years old. He fervently promoted the car in newspapers and through a network of independent dealers, and by 1918, half the cars in America were Model Ts.

fervently = intensely and passionatelydealers = people who sell something produced by others

Charles Darwin

Darwin is one of the most influential figures in scientific history. He was passionate about natural science and mostly kept to himself, devoting years to his research on wildlife and fossils. Mired inwork and under pressure from his publisher to deliver, Darwin developed myriad health problems. Despite this, he was able to put the finishing touches on his theory of natural selection, and his landmark work, “On the Origin of Species,” was published when he was 50 years old.

kept to himself = was introverted; didn’t have much contact with other peoplewildlife = animals in naturefossils = skeletons of plants/animals that are preserved in rockmired in work = having a LOT of work; too much to handlemyriad = many and variousput the finishing touches on = finally finish the last detailslandmark = important in history

Julia Child

She is one of the most famous celebrity chefs, renowned for making the art of French cooking accessible to the American public. However, she wasn’t always a culinary virtuoso – her early career was spent in advertising, and she also did a stintin the military as a research assistant. Her husband introduced her to fine French cuisine, and she later studied cooking in Paris. Child’s 726-page masterpiece, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” was published in 1961, when she was 49 years old. She went on to star in multiple television programs and publish numerous books.

renowned = famousvirtuoso = expertmasterpiece = an excellent work

Harland David Sanders

Sanders had a fairly unremarkable career that included army service, manual labor, and a short-lived career as a lawyer that ended after a courtroom brawl with his own client. He was fired from several jobs and opened a few companies, most of which failed. Sanders eventually opened a restaurant serving chicken and other meals, but tourism dried up during World War II and the place had to close.

unremarkable = there was nothing special or notable about itshort-lived = lasted a short amount of timebrawl = physical fight

At the age of 62, Colonel Sanders began to license his fried chicken recipe to other restaurants. The first one experienced a boom in sales, 75% of which were thanks to Sanders’ crunchy, delicious chicken. Within ten years the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise had expanded to over 600 locations and Sanders sold the corporation for $2 million.

license = let other people use in exchange for paymentboom = great and sudden increasecrunchy = hard, makes sounds in your mouth as you chew itfranchise = network of stores or restaurants

Anna Mary Robertson Moses

“Grandma Moses” was a famous artist who began painting in earnest at the age of 78. In her youth, she was a live-in housekeeper for wealthy families, one of which noticed her interest in art and purchased chalk and wax crayons for her. Later, as a housewife, she enjoyed decorating her home with quilts and embroidery.

in earnest = with serious intenthousekeeper = someone who kept the house clean and took care of chores around the homequilts = blankets made by putting together pieces of fabricembroidery = decorative sewing

When she developed arthritis, her sister suggested that painting might be easier on her joints. This spurredthe beginning of her painting career in her late 70s. She then produced over 1,500 canvasses – which initially sold for $5, then later for $10,000, and recently for 1.2 million. She painted scenes of rural life, which are described as simple and light-hearted.

arthritis = a disease that makes your joints painfulcanvasses = paintings (the word “canvas” is the material on which the artist paints)rural = outside the city, in areas with little populationlight-hearted = amusing, optimistic, happy

Writing Task

Write about a famous person who you admire or look up to – it could be a celebrity, politician, artist, historical figure, etc. Tell me about this person and why you like him or her. Also, would you want to be famous yourself? Why or why not?